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Neon Neon, meaning new in Greek, was discovered by two British chemists Sir William Ramsay and Morris W. Travers. They discovered the element in the atmosphere while they were studying liquid air. It was separated from other inert gases. This was in the year 1898. Ramsay had predicted the existince of this element two years before in 1897. Neon makes up about 1 part per 65,000 in the earth's atmosphere. It is a colorless, oderless gas. It doesn't readily …

…from up to twenty miles away. Other lights would have been impossible to see. Neon lamps are made by removing the air from glass tubes and filling them with the Neon gas. When 15,000 volts of electricity are applied to the tube, an electric discharge occurs, and the tube glows a fiery orange. Instead of a filament, a neon tube has two electrodes sealed within it. The Neon forms a luminous band between the two electrodes.